The confetti has fallen at the AFC Championship Game in Denver and the NFC Championship Game in Seattle, and we now have our Super Bowl LX matchup: the AFC’s second-seeded New England Patriots against the NFC’s top-seeded Seattle Seahawks.

When the two teams take the field at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8, it will mark the first Super Bowl in NFL history in which both starting quarterbacks (the Patriots’ Drake Maye and the Seahawks’ Sam Darnold) and both head coaches (the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and the Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald) are in either their first or second season with their respective teams, per CBS Sports Research.

Maye versus Darnold will also be just the third Super Bowl matchup in the past 40 years in which both quarterbacks entered the season with no playoff wins, joining the 1999 season’s Kurt Warner vs. Steve McNair and the 2021 season’s Matthew Stafford vs. Joe Burrow.

The Patriots franchise returned for its NFL-record 12th Super Bowl appearance as the first team to reach the big game after a 13-plus loss season. (New England went 4-13 in 2024.) The Seahawks broke through for their fourth Super Bowl appearance and first since Super Bowl XLIX against the Patriots in 2014.

New England made it rain in free agency, signing wide receiver Stefon Diggs, cornerback Carlton Davis, defensive lineman Milton Williams and edge rusher Harold Landry, while also drafting offensive lineman Will Campbell fourth overall. Those moves helped lift the Patriots back to the Super Bowl six seasons after Tom Brady’s departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Seattle also reshaped its roster, swapping out Geno Smith for Sam Darnold at quarterback, elevating Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the WR1 spot after trading DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and signing Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and former Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Cooper Kupp in free agency. The changes helped the Seahawks reach Super Bowl heights once again.

So what will happen in Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and Seahawks? Enjoy an early breakdown and prediction to kick off your two-week wait for the big game.

Where to watch Super Bowl 2026

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 8 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
• TV: NBC | Stream: Fubo (try for free)
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Odds: Seahawks -4.5, O/U 46.5 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

The old adage that “defense wins championships” doesn’t always ring true, but it certainly has in the 2025 NFL season. Seattle finished with the league’s No. 1 scoring defense in the regular season (17.2 points per game), while New England wasn’t far behind, allowing 18.8 points per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL.

New England played a bend-but-don’t-break style with the NFL’s eighth-best total defense, allowing just 295.2 yards per game. Seattle’s unit was led by both a top-10 pass rush (47 sacks, tied for the seventh-most) and a top-10 coverage group (77.9 passer rating allowed, fourth-best).

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense could pose a litany of problems for Maye, the Patriots’ 2025 second-team All-Pro quarterback, particularly when it comes to pass protection. Maye became the first quarterback ever to be sacked at least five times in three games in a single postseason, taking exactly five sacks in each AFC playoff game. 

Having a leaky offensive line could doom him against 2025 second-team All-Pro defensive tackle Leonard Williams, Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, 2025 second-team All-Pro linebacker Ernest Jones and 2025 second-team All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Patriots left tackle Will Campbell, the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, has endured plenty of rookie struggles in these playoffs. His three sacks allowed and nine quarterback pressures allowed are both the most in the NFL this postseason.

Darnold led the league in turnovers with 20 in the regular season, but like Patriots archnemesis Eli Manning in 2007, he’s found another level in the playoffs. Darnold has played turnover-free football through Seattle’s divisional round and NFC title game wins, throwing for 470 total yards and four touchdowns while completing 69.8% of his passes (37 of 53).

Now, he has a shot to complete a Manning-like path with a victory over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards in 2025, is clearly Seattle’s go-to target, but he’ll have a worthy adversary in Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez in Super Bowl LX.

Early Super Bowl 2026 prediction

Maye and the Patriots winning three consecutive playoff games despite him absorbing five sacks in each one is a historic anomaly. Maye joined Tony Eason (1986) and Craig Krenzel (2004) as the only quarterbacks since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to win three straight games while taking five or more sacks in each, per CBS Sports Research.

In Eason’s case, his three-game streak of luck — also with the Patriots –came to an end with a 31-7 regular-season loss to the Cincinnati Bengals after he took six sacks in Week 14 of the 1986 season. As for Krenzel, a 41-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11 of the 2004 season followed his three-game run, and he took four sacks that day.

Maye overcoming that level of poor pass protection for a fourth straight game to emerge victorious would be a historic first, and that just won’t happen against the Seahawks’ No. 1 scoring defense. Seattle wins Super Bowl LX by multiple possessions.

Early pick: Seahawks 27, Patriots 13 | Seahawks -4.5, Under 46.5    

MELBOURNE, Australia — Jessica Pegula‘s Australian Open campaign through the first three rounds had been built on unrivaled composure and smart tennis. On Monday, she added something else: a statement.

The world No. 6 didn’t just beat defending champion and close friend Madison Keys on Rod Laver Arena, she completely dismantled her game with intelligence and discipline, showing a level of tactical nous that feels every bit like a player who is ready to win a Grand Slam.

The 31-year-old advanced to the quarterfinals in Melbourne with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 9th-seed Keys to extend her flawless run — and is still yet to drop a set all tournament.

This was already the most intriguing matchup of the day. It was set up as a clash between Keys’ explosive, powerful shot making versus Pegula’s efficiency. What unfolded was, well, that, but also something a bit more telling. It was a lesson in how to combat an opponent’s strengths with shape, variety and pressure.

“[I’m] happy with the way I was able to serve I think on some really big, key points, execute my strategy,” Pegula said after the match.

“I have been seeing, hitting, moving, I feel like very well this whole tournament, and to be able to keep that up against such a great player as Madi and defending champion was going to be a lot tougher of a task today, but I think I was still able to do that really well.”

From the opening games of the first set, Pegula’s intent was clear. She was always on the front foot, stepping forward on the Keys serve to break early, and had service games with impeccable placement to constantly force movement in her opponent, rather than allowing Keys to plant herself and get the upper-hand in points with aggressive returns.

Wide serves, angled groundstrokes, looping forehands, slices, and then a flat cross-court strike. Anything that prevented the 2025 winner from finding rhythm, Pegula did.

Keys still produced the spectacular, of course. There were big serves, and moments of brilliance, including several big backhand winners down the line that reminded everyone why her ceiling remains as high as anyone’s on tour — and Pegula that she’d need to stay consistent and not drop her level or the threat of a Keys comeback would always be on.

But the problem for Keys was her own consistency. Too often she ended the point with a winner, or Pegula’s variety and depth forced an error.

The numbers told the story in a really brutal way.

After 10 games, with Pegula holding a 6-3, 1-0 lead, Keys had hit 14 winners but also 20 unforced errors. Pegula? Five and five. By the end of the match, Keys finished with a whopping 26 winners but 28 unforced errors. Pegula? 12 and 13.

It was high-risk, powerful ball-striking tennis clashing against a high-IQ, steady game, and the latter is what prevailed.

The second set followed much the same pattern with Pegula holding a slight lead the whole way through. It was a physical edge, but also a psychological one. She continued to absorb the Keys serve, she wouldn’t blink, she forced the extra balls, hit the angles, and her execution under fourth-round pressure was immense.

Even on serve, where an argument could be made that Pegula may be slightly vulnerable, there was a clear contrast. Just one double fault compared to six.

“It was really important to focus on my serve,” Pegula said. “It was very tough on that one side serving into the sun. I lost that game. And I was kind of, like, you know what … she hit a couple good shots, whatever. Just don’t dwell on it that much.

“I needed to really stay focused. I think just keep my feet moving, keep my body weight going forward. Sometimes when you get a little nervous or playing really well, sometimes you kind of just relax, and it’s hard to do that against someone like Madi who can flip matches really quickly by hitting a couple of big forehands and winners, and all of a sudden she hits a couple good serves, and it’s already back to even.”

There was so much added interest in this contest. The two co-host “The Player’s Box” podcast and are close friends. It was the first women’s Australian Open match between top 10-seeded Americans since Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport played in the 2005 final.

Pegula now moves into quarterfinals, playing incredibly efficient tennis that can unravel most rivals. No sets dropped. Only 17 games lost.

For years her consistency has been admired and rightly so, but the critics had often labeled her the great quarterfinal regular. Maybe that’s fair — she hadn’t broken through that stage of a Slam until 2024.

She arrived in Melbourne still chasing that major title and those same questions still lingered. When will she finally breakthrough? When will she finally claim the ultimate? Is she “too consistent”? Are there enough weapons? Is she great without being a champion?

For Pegula, it’s all just outside noise that she doesn’t think about.

“I felt like if I’m making quarters of a Slam, that’s pretty good,” she said. “So I never really understood the negativity towards it, or I guess just the headline of, you know, how does she get past the quarters?

“I mean, the fact that I’m putting myself in that many positions I feel like is a feat in itself. … [At the] US Open, I [made] finals, made semis, and that felt like normal. So to me it doesn’t really feel that much different. I think maybe even now I’m even more comfortable knowing that I’ve gotten further, it doesn’t feel, I don’t know, as big of a deal to be in the quarters.”

It’s performances like this, against the defending champion no less, that offer the best possible counter-argument. It’s performances like this that also suggest maybe that breakthrough isn’t coming, maybe it’s actually already in play. And maybe it’s time to shift the narratives.

Pegula’s task doesn’t get any easier: She’ll face No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinal. While Pegula is 3-0 against her, this will be the first time they’ve played at the Grand Slam level.

The matchup is set. It’ll be the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots duking it out for the right to lift the Lombardi Trophy and call themselves Super Bowl LX champions. 

These clubs find themselves en route to Santa Clara for the big game after eking out wins on Championship Sunday, albeit in different fashions. Seattle had to throw its way to a Super Bowl appearance as Sam Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship. Meanwhile, New England churned out a 10-7 win during a snowy AFC Championship against the Denver Broncos at Mile High. The Patriots leaned on defense and Drake Maye’s rushing ability to punch their ticket. 

While these are widely different versions of these clubs, this is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX back during the 2014 season. That game is remembered most for Malcolm Butler’s infamous goal-line interception to give Tom Brady and the Patriots their then-fourth Super Bowl title in franchise history, and spoil Russell Wilson and the Seahawks bid at back-to-back championships. 

That’s the history. But what does the future have in store for us in this upcoming Super Bowl? What do the oddsmakers think of this matchup? Below, we’ll comb over the initial lines for Super Bowl LX and also highlight some of the notable favorites for Super Bowl MVP. 

NFL odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

While Lumen Field and Gillette Stadium are two of the better home-field advantages that the NFL has to offer, both Seattle and New England were superb on the road this season, which could help them on this neutral site at Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl LX. 

With their win over the Broncos in the AFC Championship, New England became the first team in NFL history to go 9-0 on the road. Mike Vrabel’s team was also 7-2 ATS in those nine road matchups. As for Seattle, they did not go undefeated on the road like the Patriots, but were an equally impressive 8-1 on the road. They also come into this Super Bowl with an NFL-best 8-1 ATS road record. 

Naturally, both quarterbacks are going to be No. 1 and No. 2 in the odds to win Super Bowl MVP. With the Seahawks favored, it makes sense to see Darnold as the odds-on favorite for the award. Seven of the last 10 Super Bowl MVPs were quarterbacks. Two of the remaining three were wide receivers (Cooper Kupp in Super Bowl LVI and Julian Edelman in Super Bowl LIII), while Von Miller (Super Bowl 50) was the other non-QB MVP and lone defensive player to earn the distinction over the last decade. 

Interestingly, both Kenneth Walker III and Rhamondre Stevenson have favorable odds out of the gate. If either of them is named Super Bowl MVP, they’d become the first running back to earn the award since Terrell Davis after Super Bowl XXXII.